Kiwi Accused Of Attempted Murder In Philippines

[Jollygoodfellow]

Seems many foreigners just cant behave them selves in a country that they are a guest. Maybe more people need to be aware of what could happen before their drunken attitude gets them into trouble.Foreign Affairs officials say they have not yet been asked to help a New Zealander accused of attempted murder in the PhilippinesJody Hunt, and a Tongan passport-holder who grew up in Auckland, Hola Iketau, are facing charges of attempted murder and assault, causing serious physical injuries, in Cebu City last weekend.They are reported to have said they would rather face the criminal charges than pay a requested four million pesos in damages, equivalent to $NZ160,000.Lawyer Inocencio Dela Cerna, representing two men who were beaten on Sunday night, Hilario Escudero and Don Marck Delleva, filed the criminal charges with a local prosecutor, Raul Cristobal.Local news reports from the ABS-CBN news network said Mr Escudero, an aircraft officer, suffered bruises all over his body, a broken tooth, and a fractured neck, while Mr Delleva, a liaison officer with a medical supplies company, was today undergoing surgery on his broken jaw.Mr Escudero said in an affidavit the pair were in a car with a woman on Sunday night when they were stopped by Mr Hunt.He was one of a group of 20 expatriates drinking beer in the street outside Eddie's Hotel, in downtown Cebu City, and swearing at passing cars.When Mr Escudero blew the car horn Mr Hunt banged the hood of his car with his fist and the rest of the foreigners circled the car, the affidavit said.Hunt was allegedly about to smash a bottle of beer on Escudero when another foreigner stopped him.He called another group of foreigners, including Mr Iketau, who allegedly punched Mr Delleva, and kicked Mr Escudero, who said Mr Hunt also rammed him.When security guards intervened, the foreigners went to a nearby bar, while the victims complained to police and sought medical treatment.Mr Iketau and Mr Hunt later told police they had been mauled by two Filipinos and sustained bruises, but they asked for forgiveness and said they were willing to pay damages. But when the victims produced medical receipts for 500,000 pesos (NZ$20,000), the foreigners said all they could offer was a tenth of that.The lawyer for Mr Hunt and Mr Iketau, Noel Archival, claimed the incident was a mere traffic problem, and that his clients did not start the fighting. He said the Filipino complainants had asked them to each pay two million pesos (NZ$NZ80,000) damages, but they could not afford it.Mr Archival said the New Zealander and the Tongan were "mere tourists" who had been in the Philippines for months, and were willing to face the charges rather than pay damages.The two men featured in last year's "Movember" campaign and are pictured on its website as part of the Team Mo Cebu which raised $NZ375 for the charity

[BobNChe]

Damn, the crap never seems to end. There are so many discrepancies in this story it resembles Swiss cheese. First of all there is no outside drinking tables or facilities at Eddies. It would be a cluster phuck with 20 people drinking outside on the sidewalk. This crap never ceases to amaze me. Not saying the Aussies were not at fault as there is not enough information. But P500,000 in medical bills in one short time frame is a hell of a bill.

[Jollygoodfellow]

Damn, the crap never seems to end. There are so many discrepancies in this story it resembles Swiss cheese. First of all there is no outside drinking tables or facilities at Eddies. It would be a cluster phuck with 20 people drinking outside on the sidewalk. This crap never ceases to amaze me. Not saying the Aussies were not at fault as there is not enough information. But P500,000 in medical bills in one short time frame is a hell of a bill.

Kiwis come from New Zealand :th_thimage_265775:

[Mike S]

Hummmmm .... I thought they were all related being from "Down Under" .... hahahahahaha

[Mr Lee]

Another black eye for those expats who live here and who visit.

[TheMason]

Seems many foreigners just cant behave them selves in a country that they are a guest. Maybe more people need to be aware of what could happen before their drunken attitude gets them into trouble.Foreign Affairs officials say they have not yet been asked to help a New Zealander accused of attempted murder in the PhilippinesJody Hunt, and a Tongan passport-holder who grew up in Auckland, Hola Iketau, are facing charges of attempted murder and assault, causing serious physical injuries, in Cebu City last weekend.They are reported to have said they would rather face the criminal charges than pay a requested four million pesos in damages, equivalent to $NZ160,000.Lawyer Inocencio Dela Cerna, representing two men who were beaten on Sunday night, Hilario Escudero and Don Marck Delleva, filed the criminal charges with a local prosecutor, Raul Cristobal.Local news reports from the ABS-CBN news network said Mr Escudero, an aircraft officer, suffered bruises all over his body, a broken tooth, and a fractured neck, while Mr Delleva, a liaison officer with a medical supplies company, was today undergoing surgery on his broken jaw.Mr Escudero said in an affidavit the pair were in a car with a woman on Sunday night when they were stopped by Mr Hunt.He was one of a group of 20 expatriates drinking beer in the street outside Eddie's Hotel, in downtown Cebu City, and swearing at passing cars.When Mr Escudero blew the car horn Mr Hunt banged the hood of his car with his fist and the rest of the foreigners circled the car, the affidavit said.Hunt was allegedly about to smash a bottle of beer on Escudero when another foreigner stopped him.He called another group of foreigners, including Mr Iketau, who allegedly punched Mr Delleva, and kicked Mr Escudero, who said Mr Hunt also rammed him.When security guards intervened, the foreigners went to a nearby bar, while the victims complained to police and sought medical treatment.Mr Iketau and Mr Hunt later told police they had been mauled by two Filipinos and sustained bruises, but they asked for forgiveness and said they were willing to pay damages. But when the victims produced medical receipts for 500,000 pesos (NZ$20,000), the foreigners said all they could offer was a tenth of that.The lawyer for Mr Hunt and Mr Iketau, Noel Archival, claimed the incident was a mere traffic problem, and that his clients did not start the fighting. He said the Filipino complainants had asked them to each pay two million pesos (NZ$NZ80,000) damages, but they could not afford it.Mr Archival said the New Zealander and the Tongan were "mere tourists" who had been in the Philippines for months, and were willing to face the charges rather than pay damages.The two men featured in last year's "Movember" campaign and are pictured on its website as part of the Team Mo Cebu which raised $NZ375 for the charity

Just another piece of the Filipino govt/media anti-foreigner hate campaign.The way I read this story is:Two locals and 2 foreigners got into a disagreement, probably because the foreigners were in the street and the locals followed driving norms and just kept driving assuming the foreigners would move. A fight ensued because the foreigners were upset at almost being run over. The locals got beat like a rented mule and went to the cops claiming the a** kicking they received was an insult to all Filipinos. Outrageous extortion attempts were rebuffed so the foreigners are facing charges. They'll wind up paying double the original extortion request or spend a significant amount of time in jail.

[Mr Lee]

I think many of us are just too quick to convict foreigners and the fact is that most of the time expats and visitors get set up because Filipinos assume we have money, and it seems the law takes the Filipinos word over ours. If this country is ever to really grow, they need to have true justice for all.

[Jollygoodfellow]

Its been awhile now,anyone know the out come of this commotion, all good I hope :SugarwareZ-037:

[Mike S]

I think many of us are just too quick to convict foreigners and the fact is that most of the time expats and visitors get set up because Filipinos assume we have money, and it seems the law takes the Filipinos word over ours. If this country is ever to really grow, they need to have true justice for all.

True Lee .... but two things here ...... 1) have you seen the way some of the foreigners and ex-pats living here behave ....... like the Filipinos and the Philippines in general owes them a living ...... I mean they feel and believe that if it wasn't for them the Phils would just dry up and blow away ...... how sad ........ to be that egotistical ........ 2) are we to blame for the way people think that we are all so rich that for us money grows on trees ..... I mean come on ..... many ex-pats live in very expensive places ..... drive big cars and spend money like there is no tomorrow ..... look at the sex-pats ...... my god man they come here for 2 weeks and spend 10 to 15 thousand dollars ...... so what else are the common people here to believe ...... people tip taxi drivers almost as much as the fare ...... tip in restaurants the equivalent to a full days salary ... all in the pretence that we feel sorry for these poor people (yes we all do) ...... but are we really doing them and ourselves a favor ...... I don't think so ....... the old saying of "flaunt it ... loose it" ..... was never so true here in this country ..... yes I'm afraid we have ourselves to blame for a lot of the inequality shown here when it comes to treatment of foreigners ...... One of the first this I explained to Julie when we were chatting on the internet years ago was that although we made more money in the US the cost to live there was much greater than living here ...... when I told her what I paid for electric ... house payment .... cable and other stuff like insurance she understood why I need a big salary to get by ...... and although I hate to admit it I am saving twice the money ..... proportionately ..... here than I could in the US ....... Anyway just some of my personal observances from "someone on the ground here in Cebu" ......... as that seems to be the new "catch phrase" now ......... hahahahahaha

[Mike S]

Sorry Tom ...... back to your question ...... no seems to have "gone quietly into the still night" ....... I read normally 4 different papers daily and watch both the local and Manila news ...... seems to have disappeared ....... maybe they paid the Filipinos off and they hushed it up ....... but that is purely speculation on my part ....... but it wouldn't be the first time that someone was guilty of something and paid others off to make it go away .......